Hy-Vee Chinese Express Recognized for Excellence
February 27, 2009 | News & Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
West Des Moines, IA- Hy-Vee's Chinese Express, the company's fastest-growing and most popular dining service, has been named to the Top 100 Chinese Restaurants/Chains in the United States. It is the fifth year in a row the company has been so honored.
Hy-Vee was lauded in two categories of the Chinese Restaurant News annual awards: overall excellence and healthy menu. Overall excellence is determined by high scores in cuisine, décor and atmosphere, service and cleanliness. The healthy menu category was added this year to recognize restaurants that are meeting the needs of the growing wave of healthy diners.
Hy-Vee's addition of entrees with stir-fried meat and more vegetables are well-liked among customers who are focused on good nutrition. Beijing Chicken is one such dish that is healthier and flavorful. And while dishes that include breaded and deep-fried foods remain among the favorites, they are now prepared with zero trans fat frying oil and without MSG. Additionally, the company will soon complete a transition to cooking exclusively with low sodium soy sauce.
"Hy-Vee's Chinese food service is successful because we have more than 400 highly trained Chinese chefs and countless dedicated helpful servers, who are constantly looking for ways to improve our customer service and food offerings," said Greg Frampton, assistant vice president of food service. "We're also dedicated to offering customers options so they can accomplish their healthy lifestyle goals as they relate to nutrition."
Restaurants were evaluated in part by a mystery diner who made anonymous visits and evaluations of each nominee. Customer votes and reviews also played a part in the final results. The awards were presented during The 5th Annual Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in the USA Awards. Ceremony held recently in Las Vegas.
There is fresh Chinese food in 127 of Hy-Vee's 198 supermarkets. Customers can eat in, take out or purchase pre-packaged meals from a food case.
According to Chinese Restaurant News, there are now more than 45,000 Chinese restaurants in America, more than McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's combined. It is an industry with more than $20 billion in annual sales.
Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating 224 retail stores in seven Midwestern states. For 2008 the company recorded total sales of $6.2 billion, ranking it among the top 30 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States. Supermarket News, the authoritative voice of the food industry, honored the company with the 2008 Whole Health Enterprise Award for its leadership in providing services and programs that promote a healthy lifestyle.
Chinese Restaurant News (c-r-n.com) was founded in 1995 to inform the Chinese speaking owners and operators of over 45,000 Chinese restaurants in USA of industry news and trends. CRN is published by parent company, Smart Business Services, Inc. (s-b-s.net).